Chapter 27 CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MAEVA
"You can say something, I know you are there."
I move away from the wall I've been leaning on in confusion.
"Get out of my mind, witch!"
How did she do that? I've been standing here watching her for the past five minutes. How is she able to do that?
"Relax. I'm only able to talk to you, I can't make you do anything. Humans died off and the war started right when I was about to learn that particular trick."
Witches suffered the most with humans around but they also felt the lost the most. Their most dangerous practices were done on humans so with the extinction of humans, they lost their guinea pigs.
"Locked up by her own mate, that has to sting." She says again.
Two hours after the Beta left and didn't lock the door and thirty minutes after talking to Taron, I decided to talk to the witch. If only to take my mind away from being locked up and a pack that my neighbours are trying to take from me in my absence.
I turn away but her voice in my head stops me in my tracks. "You're troubled by a lot."
I sigh and turn back. "Of course I'm troubled by a lot, I'm locked up."
"It's more than that. You're worried about how the mate bond is going to affect your life and your pack."
"Great, another obvious fact."
Her shoulder starts shaking in laughter and I growl.
"You're right to be worried. Life with Caius will be a battle. In the end you'll give in, it's already written."
"I will write my own fate." I say, walking toward her cell.
"You can. But not concerning this. You and Caius will complete the mate bond. There's no running from it. You can however, change how you die."
The quiet cell gets even more quiet.
"I don't want to know how I die."
"I know. I have no plans of telling you. All I will say on the matter is that if you give in to the bond before the blue moon, you will die a horrible, shameful death."
Her words send a chill down my spine. I knew nothing good would ever come out of this thing with Caius.
"Or I could kill you right now and forget this conversation ever happened."
"You could."
I shake my head in annoyance. This was a complete waste of my time.
"I know how to ease the pain of the heat too."
That gets my attention and I move forward. "If you're lying right now, you won't have to bother about Caius. I will make sure you don't survive this cell."
"I'm not lying. I've lived a long life and I've known a lot of werewolves. The males I hate, but the females? I would do anything to protect."
She means it. There's more to this story but I doubt I'll ever find out.
"How do I ease the pain?"
"You can't stop it forever. Soon, nature will come calling, hard. But I know a way to make sure you last until the blue moon is over."
I sigh and look back at the door that leads out of this cell. "What do you want in return?"
"I don't want anything," she says.
Her voice has changed, now it sounds like she's laughing at me.
"But… I can only give you the ease when you have escaped. You can't make it in here, so start planning your escape."
"And how will you get out? You can't do magic."
"Your mate doesn't want to kill me. By now, my people would have started preparations to get me out."
"Don't enter my land without permission, I'm less lenient than Caius is."
She laughs in my head. "No, you're not."
Keys jingle on the other end and her voice whispers in my head, "This is your chance."
The big door is pushed open and Clayton comes in.
"The terrain is big and confusing, you won't be able to find your way. Follow the willow trees to find your way out." The witch whispers again in my head
"Were you just talking with her?" Clayton asks.
He hasn't moved from the door but he hasn't closed it yet.
"No, I wasn't."
"I heard your voice. I heard you talking." He insists.
"I didn't say I wasn't talking, I said I wasn't talking with her."
"Take your shot now." She whispers again.
Clayton exhales and visibly relaxes.
"He'll never see it coming, do it now."
He closes the door as I take a step forward. I look from him to the door and study it. It doesn't have a lock on this end which means that it can only be opened from outside. But if he's in here, that means there's a way to open it from this end.
“Well,” he says lightly, folding his arms. “You look less murderous.”
He's trying to make a joke out of it but we're not friends. He's the beta of the werewolf who kidnapped me.
I lower my gaze, hiding the spark I know is there.
“I told you,” I murmur, my voice sounding calm. “I won’t cause trouble.”
Clayton studies me for a moment, suspicion flickering in his eyes. He relaxes again, pushing off the wall he was leaning on. That’s when I move.
My shoulder slams into his chest before he can react, driving him backwards into the wall. The air leaves his lungs in a sharp grunt. He tries to grab me, but I’m faster. I twist, hook my leg behind his knee and I shove him hard. He crashes down, stunned more by surprise than pain.
My claws itch beneath my skin, my wolf begging to nick him a little. Don’t kill him, I remind her.
I pin his arm, wrenching it just enough to keep him down — enough to hurt, but not enough to break. He tries to shift, strength surging, but desperation makes me stronger. I slam my palm into the pressure point at his throat, not lethal, but it's enough to hurt and confuse him.
"The lock is down by your feet. The oddly shaped panel." The witch whispers.
I push the panel with my feet and the door opens. I open it and lock it behind me. I run out the front door without looking back. Thankfully, Caius is not here. I need to leave before he comes and drags me back. If he wants to kidnap me again, he's going to have to do it in my pack.
I run into the forest and I keep moving, trusting my instincts to lead me. It's soon clear that I'm going round in circles and I can't afford the time I'm wasting. I stand in the forest looking lost until my eyes catch them.
Willow trees. I smile and exhale. The witch was right after all.
I shift and set off for home. I keep my eyes out for willow trees and soon, I'm on a familiar route.
Now, I just have to get home, secure my pack then wait for the witch and her cure for heat.
Your move, Caius.